Jeremy Maddock » Business

Auto Bailout Sets Stage for Subprime Car Loan Crisis

Jeremy — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:15:42 +0000

Just hours after receiving $5 billion in bailout funds from the U.S. government, General Motors’ financing division, GMAC Financial Services, announced a thoroughly unimpressive plan to “facilitate the purchase of cars and trucks in the U.S.” by easing its lending standards.

Rather than striving to cut costs and regain financial sustainability, North America’s biggest auto company will use its newfound taxpayer-funded slush fund to offer loans at below-market interest rates – as low as 0% in some cases. So even if you can’t afford a new car, GM will bend over backwards to make sure you get one…

It all sounds eerily similar to what subprime mortgage brokers were doing a few years ago. And once again, governments (both U.S. and Canadian) are pumping money into the system to encourage it.

Harper Blames “Unfettered Capitalism” for Economic Crisis

Jeremy — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 05:50:53 +0000

Just before last week's federal election, I predicted that Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, would fall short of his coveted majority, but still win far more seats than he deserved, given the overly cautious and under-principled campaign he has run.

World Markets Suffer Post-Bailout Hangover

Jeremy — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:01:29 +0000

George W. Bush bribed investors throughout America (and the world) last week with a $700 billion+ plan to buy up bad mortgage assets and put global markets back on the right track.

AIG Bailout Won’t Save Unsustainable U.S. Economy

Jeremy — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:56:30 +0000

A little over a week after the U.S. government bailed out mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freedie Mac, intervention has marred the marketplace yet again. This time it's AIG, a major insurance company, that's received an $85 billion lifeline from the Federal Reserve.

Relaxing Regulations Could Help BC Labour Market, Says Fraser Institute

Jeremy — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:50:48 +0000

British Columbia is the third strongest performing labour market in Canada, behind Alberta and Saskatchewan, but could rise to the number one spot with looser provincial labour laws, according to a recent report by the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based free market think-tank.

NDP Bashes Banks to Win Easy Votes

Jeremy — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:30:52 +0000

There's been a lot of talk in the past few days about the ATM fees charged by Canada's major banks; and as the federal parliament reconvenes, NDP leader Jack Layton is jumping on this as a new way to misinform the public and boost his party's lethargic position in the polls.

Canadian Economy is Over-Equalized, Says Report

Jeremy — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 09:08:48 +0000

Canada's much-hyped culture of regional institutional equality is a flawed concept, and is seriously undermining our country's competitive clout in the global marketplace., according to a recent Conference Board report on the Canadian economy.

Research In Motion Gets Trademark-Paranoid

Jeremy — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 06:55:19 +0000

The future of Samsung’s BlackJack smartphone may be in jeopardy due to a new lawsuit from Research In Motion, claiming that the “BlackJack” brand name is too close to that of its own popular BlackBerry device.

Internet Advertising Revenues Set to Surpass Those of Radio

Jeremy — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 10:11:14 +0000

Revenues from the internet advertising industry will likely reach $16 billion this year, according to projections by eMarketer, and is set for more growth in the years to come.

Federal Government Screws Income Trust Investors

Jeremy — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:47:55 +0000

If you follow the Canadian stock market you likely know all too well that the federal government sprung a dramatic decision on investors earlier this week, which will see "income trusts" taxed at about the same rate as any resistered corporation.